The Commerce Commission today cleared Port of Wellington Limited to buy all of the shares in Container Terminals Limited.

Commission Chairman Dr Alan Bollard said the Commission had concluded that Port of Wellington would not acquire or strengthen a dominant position in any market.

Container Terminals Limited operates the container terminal facility in Wellington on land and buildings it leases from the port company. Port of Wellington, as the owner and operator of the Wellington port, provides cargo and ship handling facilities and equipment to Container Terminals Limited and other companies.

The possible effects of the proposal on the ship handling and cargo handling markets were investigated Dr Bollard said.

The Commission's view is that the proposal would result in some aggregation of market share in the cargo handling market. However, actual and potential competition would continue to be provided by other market participants and other ports.

While the proposal would involve vertical integration between the ship handling and cargo handling markets, the proposal is unlikely to lead to any major change in the existing market situation, Dr Bollard said.

Media contact:Vincent Cholewa, Communications Officer

Phone work (04) 471 0180, home (04) 479 1432